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There is nothing more beloved than the Mincha prayer. The afternoon offering — the one between the morning and the evening — is the prayer that comes at the moment when the day is ...
The Hebrew Bible promises: "A prophet from your midst, of your brethren, like me, will God establish for you" (Deuteronomy 18:15). Targum Onkelos translates this verse without alte...
“On his royal throne” – Rabbi Kohen (a priest) in the name of Rabbi Azarya: “On his royal throne [kisse malkhut (Sovereignty)o],” malkhuto is written [without the vav]. He sought t...
We often think of Balaam as the sorcerer hired to curse the Israelites, and Jannes and Jambres as the magicians who opposed Moses in Pharaoh’s court, but they had lives, families, ...
The Torah says the Levites have no land inheritance. Targum Jonathan goes further, specifying exactly what they receive instead—twenty-four gifts of the priesthood. That number doe...
When God looks down at a wicked generation, the rabbis said, He searches for one righteous person to carry the weight of atonement for all the rest. This is the reading Aggadat Ber...
What is meant by 'a wicked bond'? Shebna taught to twelve myriads, while Hezekiah taught to eleven myriads. When Sennacherib came and besieged Jerusalem, Shebna wrote on an arrowhe...
Today, let’s peek into the ancient legal system and uncover the minimum number of wise heads needed for a fair trial. We're talking about the Sanhedrin, the ancient Jewish high cou...
It couldn't have been easy. Turns out, the Torah already had a plan for that! This week, we're diving into a tiny verse, just a sliver of text, in Sifrei Devarim, a collection of l...
The Temple Scroll does something no other Dead Sea Scroll attempts—it rewrites biblical law. And one of its most striking revisions concerns the Israelite king. (Deuteronomy 17:14-...
The idea is that God wouldn't want anyone to be able to say, "Hey, you kept yourself hidden from us!" later on. So, what did God do? According to some interpretations, God gave eve...
The Philistines captured the Ark of God and dragged it into the temple of their idol Dagon at Ashdod. They set it beside their god like a trophy. But the next morning, they found D...
Jewish mysticism, especially in texts like Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah (Wisdom), delves deep into these mysteries, seeking to understand the very blueprint of creation. After laying ou...
And it's a question that Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic commentaries on the Book of Psalms, grapples with in its interpretation of Psalm 72. The verse promises that the...
It turns out, that feeling is deeply intertwined with our understanding of God's reign and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. how praise, singing, and the very act of rebuilding are inte...
We often associate it with age, with experience, with the learned. But what if I told you that wisdom, true Torah wisdom, can flow from the most unexpected sources? Sifrei Devarim,...
The Book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, dives right into this question. It's in chapter 13, verse 2, where it says, "If there arise in your midst a prophet..." But it doesn’t just stop t...
It wasn't just about popularity, that's for sure. The Book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, gives us some fascinating insights, and the Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretation...
It all comes down to the Sanhedrin, the ancient Jewish high court. The Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)ic commentary on the Song of Songs, offers ...
It seems straightforward, but like peering into the deepest ocean, the deeper we go, the more layers of meaning we find. The Zohar, in (Genesis 1:1), dives right into this mystery....
Gideon, one of the Judges of Israel, certainly did. The story goes that an angel appeared to Gideon, tasking him with a monumental mission: delivering Israel from the oppression of...
It speaks of prophets, referred to as "masters of the feet" (a fascinating image, isn't it?), urgently seeking entry. Imagine this: these prophets are at the gate, knocking, pleadi...
Despite the Torah's explicit prohibition against divination (Deuteronomy 18:10-12), medieval Jews practiced it extensively—and spent centuries debating exactly where the line fell ...
We find ourselves in a rather intense corner of Jewish law today, diving into a verse from Sefer Devarim (the Book of Deuteronomy), specifically 17:7. It's a verse that, on the sur...
The Torah tells us, "When you besiege a city…you shall not destroy its trees" (Deuteronomy 20:19). Seems pretty straightforward. Protect the environment, even in wartime. But then ...
Each prophet saw God differently. Amos saw Him standing — "I saw the Lord standing beside the altar" (Amos 9:1). Isaiah saw Him sitting — "I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high ...
"I will assemble Jacob, all of you; I will bring together the remnant of Israel" (Micah 2:12). The end of Aggadat Bereshit's prophetic arc arrives here: not the death of Jacob, not...
The Sifrei Devarim, a legal midrash on the Book of Deuteronomy, touches on some specific examples of legal “disputes” that might arise. It mentions the ordeal of the sotah, the wom...
It all comes down to a fascinating system of appointments, a hierarchy of leadership that, according to our sages, can all be found hinted at in the book of Deuteronomy (Devarim). ...
Our focus is on the verse in Deuteronomy (19:15) that states, "By word of two witnesses, or by word of three witnesses, shall a thing be established." Sounds simple enough. But wha...
Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish did, and what he saw was...fire. I know, it sounds intense. But listen to how he described it. The Torah that God gave us, he said, its parchment was white ...
Ever read the Song of Songs and thought, "Wow, that's... descriptive?" It’s poetry, of course, but sometimes those ancient metaphors leave you scratching your head. Take (Song of S...
The ancient rabbis certainly thought so when reflecting on the history of Israel. Vayikra Rabbah, a midrash – a collection of rabbinic teachings – on the Book of Leviticus, explore...
It’s all about humility, devotion, and a legacy that blossoms through generations. Ben Sira celebrates those judges of old, "each man by his name, every one who didn't self-glorify...
When Darius settled onto the throne of Babylon, his first act was not a military campaign or a political purge. He sent for Daniel. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th...
And sometimes, out of that chaos, heroes rise. We've been talking about Deborah, one of the great judges and prophets of Israel. Can you imagine being a woman in that time, holding...
God made a striking declaration to the Israelites at Sinai: "You have seen what I did to Egypt" (Exodus 19:4). The Mekhilta emphasizes that God was not asking the people to accept ...
Jewish tradition certainly has words for those times. In fact, the Yalkut Shimoni, a vast and fascinating collection of rabbinic teachings and interpretations, points directly to s...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Sifrei Devarim, a legal commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy. It's all about a very specific, and frankly, unsettling scenario:...
Ever stumble upon a mystery, a puzzle that makes you scratch your head and wonder, "How does this all fit together?" Jewish tradition is full of them, and today we're diving into o...
Ever stumble upon a ritual in the Torah and think, "Wait, what exactly are they doing… and why?" Let's talk about the ritual of the eglah arufah, the "broken-necked heifer," found ...
The levirate marriage ceremony in (Deuteronomy 25) is already dramatic in the Torah. Targum Jonathan turns it into theater. The brother-in-law's refusal must happen "before five of...
"From the kingship of the hypocritical man from the snares of the people" (Job 34:30) Abba Gurion, from Sidon, said five things in the name of Rabban Gamliel: (1) When lying judges...
The story of Bilam gives us a fascinating glimpse. We find ourselves in the Book of Numbers, Bamidbar in Hebrew. The Israelites are on the move, and their growing presence is makin...
(Deut. 16:18:) “[You shall appoint] judges and law officers.” This text is related (to Ps. 147:19), “He declares His words to Jacob, His statutes and His ordinances to Israel.” “Hi...
(Deut. 16:18:) “[You shall appoint] judges and law officers,” “judges” are magistrates, and “law officers” are administrators that supervise the people.11Cf. Sifre to Deut. 16:18 (...
(Deut. 16:18:) “You shall appoint [judges and law officers] for yourselves”; and not for the peoples of the world. Another interpretation (of Deut. 16:18), “You shall appoint [judg...
(Deut. 16:18:) “You shall appoint judges and law officers] for yourselves in all your gates,” in every single city; “for your tribes,” even when the whole city consists of a single...
